


Write It In The Sky

by soobiscuits



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, M/M, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 18:05:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8456470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soobiscuits/pseuds/soobiscuits
Summary: After ten years, Yixing is finally coming home to Baekhyun.





	

**Author's Note:**

> It was supposed to be less than 5k, but alas. Enjoy!

_Year 2410, Day 104.  
Don’t forget to come pick me up!   
With love, X_

 

 

\---

 

 

The sun rises. A brilliant orange-yellow light begins to spread across the forest, bathing the mass of green in its warmth. The light gradually reaches what would be considered an abnormality in the nature. Shaped like a cube, the anomaly is five walls concrete, one wall glass. The glass wall is supported by a lattice of metal pieces, welded together to form numerous hexagons, giving the glass wall an impression of being formed by hexagonally-shaped windows. The man-made structure juxtaposes with the natural wood that surrounds it, hence its consideration of being an abnormality in the forest. And in this anomaly lives someone who, also, would be considered an abnormality. Not just in the forest, but in the world the forest exists in. 

 

The sun continues to rise. Sunlight streams into the anomaly through the glass lattice of hexagons, bathing the parquet flooring in a brilliant yellow light. The floor holds nothing, save for a large mattress that has been placed right in the middle. To the left of the mattress is the glass wall, while to the right is a small kitchen that comprises of the bare essentials—sink, refrigerator, an island counter, shelves mounted on a concrete wall. Another concrete wall faces the bottom of the mattress, and a small wooden door, erected within yet another concrete wall, is in the direction of the mattress’ head. The door is never locked, never will be. There is no need for it to be. After all, there is no one in the forest but _him_. 

 

A shrill sound pierces through the silence. An alarm. A man-made noise. It’s loud, loud enough to drown out the silence that used to envelope the anomaly. Yet, as loud as it is, nothing stirs. Nothing stops, either; the sun continues to rise, sunlight continues to spread across the parquet—crawling silently onto the mattress now—and it will not stop until it has showered the entire inside of the anomaly in yellow. But just as sudden as it had happened, the sound suddenly stops. The alarm dies down, and all is silent once more. 

 

Moments later, the same shrill sound pierces through the silence. It’s the alarm again. And this time, all remains the same—nothing stops, nothing stirs. 

 

Except for the mattress. 

 

The white sheets on the mattress rustle. A hand shoots out from beneath. Fingers knowingly creep towards a side of the mattress—the side that faces the glass wall—and onto the floor, where the source of the alarm seems to be. Flesh meets with the surface of the supposed source—a thin piece of metal—and the sound ceases instantly. The alarm is stopped, has stopped, and silence returns–

 

The sheets are thrown back then, and someone emerges with a groan. 

 

Baekhyun sits up and blearily blinks his eyes, trying to accustom his vision to the brightness of his surroundings. _Huh_ , he sleepily thinks, _it’s already morning_. Baekhyun rubs his eyes with one hand, seemingly intent on rubbing out the sleepiness in them (if the harshness of his rubbing is any indication) as he blindly gropes around with the other. A grin suddenly forms on his face—Baekhyun’s found what he’s looking for. Popping an eye open, he places a thumb at the bottom right corner of the rectangular piece of metal that’s been placed in front of him. The surface of the metal piece lights up and an array of numbers fill the screen. Baekhyun immediately smiles. 

 

He uses the same thumb and an index finger to pinch across the screen, before throwing the hand upwards and the numbers suddenly appear in front of him. “Finally,” Baekhyun breathes, eyes staring at the projection from the screen of the metal piece. He reaches for the numbers, index finger brushing against a ‘1’ and a ‘0’. His finger goes right through, the numbers unaffected by his action as they remain suspended in the air, though the lines that define the shapes of the numbers appear distorted around Baekhyun’s finger. The static appearance doesn’t bother Baekhyun one bit, not when he’s been causing distorted numbers every single day for the past ten years. 

 

Baekhyun pulls his finger out of the ‘0’ and leans backwards a little, the small of his back resting slightly on his pillow. His fingers find refuge in the white sheets, soft rustling sounds slowly shattering the silence as Baekhyun takes in the big picture, absorbs the reality of the huge numbers floating in front of him.

 

_Year 2410, Day 104._

 

“We've made it.”

 

Baekhyun’s smile widens. 

 

“We’ve _finally_ made it.” 

 

 

\---

 

 

_“Why are you crying?”_

_Baekhyun lifts his head upon hearing the voice, only to shriek and fall onto his back because he wasn't expecting his eyes to be staring into another pair. Not when there had been absolutely no one but himself at the meadow for the entire afternoon. And especially not when Baekhyun briefly notices in the irises of the pair of eyes specks of gold that are not present in his own._

_“Why are you crying?”_

_Accompanying the repeated question is a hand, extended into the space between Baekhyun and the stranger. When Baekhyun doesn’t respond, the fingers on the hand wriggle. “Please grab onto my hand and pull yourself up.” The fingers wriggle again, a small smile accompanying the gesture this time. Baekhyun spies an inkling of a dimple near the right corner of the smile. His fingers suddenly twitch._

_“Come on, I don’t bite.” The smile widens, and a dimple forms. Warmth suddenly washes over Baekhyun and his hand shoots up and out a split second later. His fingerpads meet with calloused ones, and even though the touch is so different, so unfamiliar, Baekhyun finds himself liking it. He likes the roughness of the stranger’s hand against his own smooth hands—courtesy of having not done chores until recently—and he doesn’t know why._

_With the help of the stranger, Baekhyun sits up. He tries to reach for his back, wanting to brush off the blades of grass that would have stuck to his shirt. Unfortunately, Baekhyun’s arms are not that flexible, and the futile attempt causes him to yelp in pain. “I should have heeded mother’s advice and practiced sliding my palms together up my back,” Baekhyun grouses, completely forgetting that he is accompanied by another. “My elbows wouldn’t be this stiff if I had. Ugh.”_

_Laughter that is not his own attracts Baekhyun’s attention, and it is then does he remember that there is a stranger in the meadow with him. A stranger that is now seated in front of him, head tilted to a side, smiling, and with an adorable dimple that, once again, causes a wave of warmth to wash over him. Baekhyun still doesn’t know why he’s being affected by that particular facial feature._

_“You’re funny,” The stranger says, tilting his head to the other side. The smile remains, and so does the dimple. “Thank you for making me laugh, crying boy.” Baekhyun hadn’t known that it was possible for the dimple to be even more… dimply. Another wave of warmth washes over him, further infuriating Baekhyun because now he has to deal with both the inexplicable bouts of heat and the embarrassment of being called the crying boy._

_Yet, he finds it in himself to remain calm, and himself. “I do not know what you are talking about,” Baekhyun replies, casually inserting some sass into his tone. If ‘prim and proper’ Chanyeol were here, he’d be smacking the back of Baekhyun’s head for being rude towards a person he’s seeing for the first time. Well, too bad. Chanyeol isn’t here, and neither is his mother, so Baekhyun’s allowed to be as sassy, as rude as he wants to be. Stranger or not, Baekhyun doesn’t care. “Who is this ‘crying boy’ you’re talking about?”_

_The stranger laughs again and_ ugh _, Baekhyun wants to rip that offending dimple off the stranger’s face. His body has been heating up ever since the dimple made its appearance, and Baekhyun_ still _doesn’t know why. It may be summer right now, but he has never felt this warm. Never. Baekhyun is very confused and very frustrated. What is wrong with him? Why is he reacting like this to the stranger? Also, why does his eyes have gold bits–_

_“Oh gosh, your knees are bleeding!”_

_–and what?_

_Baekhyun comes to his senses and follows the stranger’s line of sight. He ends up looking at his own pair of bloodied knees. Oh._ Oh. _He has totally forgotten about them. The scene of what happened before he met the stranger flashed in his head and the image proves to be too much for Baekhyun to handle (even though it's just him tripping over practically nothing and scraping his knees) for tears immediately begin to form in his eyes. A loud sob escapes his lips._

_Having buried his face in his hands, and trapped within his bubble of self-pity and fear of his bloodied knees, Baekhyun misses the way the stranger crawls between his opened legs. He only registers that the stranger is seated right in front of him when he hears the same question again._

_“Why are you crying?”_

_Baekhyun immediately looks up, and sees the stranger looking at him. Their faces are so close that Baekhyun notices the specks of gold sparkling in the stranger’s eyes for the second time. He also notices the slightly amused smile on the boy’s face. The expression should have aroused Baekhyun’s anger, but he feels nothing. He only feels the warmth on his face, and the bout of heat that creeps into his cheeks when he realises just how_ close _the stranger is to him._

_Just then, the boy suddenly moves. His hands swiftly reach up to Baekhyun’s face, fingers gently settling on either side, and thumbs on the bottom of Baekhyun’s teary eyes. Seemingly oblivious to the light shade of pink creeping onto Baekhyun’s face, the stranger continues to wipe the tears away from Baekhyun’s eyes. The touches are soft, barely felt at all. Baekhyun can't believe it. The boy is actually wiping his tears away for him. The stranger obviously doesn't know him, and neither does Baekhyun know him._

_So why? Why is he doing this for Baekhyun? Is he… doing this for some reward? Well, because if he is then Baekhyun would first like to say that he has absolutely nothing to offer to the stranger in exchange for this act._

_“Please tell me why you're crying,” The boy suddenly says, snapping Baekhyun out of his thoughts. The stranger repeats the question again when Baekhyun does nothing, and after hearing the same voice—asking almost the same thing each time—Baekhyun inexplicably begins to enjoy hearing it. He likens the stranger’s voice to the gentle breezes that blow during spring days, the coolness never failing to bring satisfied smiles to everyone’s faces. Baekhyun loves those breezes, which is why he is not surprised to find himself liking the voice of the unknown boy. “Is it because of your knees?” The boy speaks again and this time Baekhyun can't help but smile. The smile widens when a confused expression forms on the boy’s face. Baekhyun finds it adorable._

_He also finds it in himself to finally answer, since it's rather unfair that the boy has spoken to him first and has asked him a bunch of questions (though similar). Baekhyun’s mother has taught him manners, mind you. “Y-Yeah. They h-hurt.” Baekhyun points to his knees. The gruesome sight of the blood on them almost prompts Baekhyun to go into another crying fit, but it never happens because all of a sudden, his knees are glowing in a shade of blue._

_Huh. What… is happening? Why are his knees glowing blue?! And shouldn’t Baekhyun be afraid—afraid of whatever is happening to his bleeding knees—but there is no flight-or-fight feeling exploding within him. If anything, all Baekhyun feels on his knees is the same warmth that he had felt after hearing the voice and looking upwards thereafter. It's unfamiliar, but not unwelcomed. Not when Baekhyun discovers that the blue glow is caused by the boy._

_The tips of the boy’s fingers are glowing blue, with squiggly lines emanating a pretty blue glow coming out of them. The sight isn't disgusting, and Baekhyun isn't put off at all. He's mesmerised. His eyes are transfixed on the boy’s fingertips, and they trail the tendrils to his own knees, following a single one as it embarks on its journey across one of Baekhyun’s wounded knees. It weaves its way around the knee, snaking across the expanse of the reddened skin to spread its blue glow onto Baekhyun’s knee. It doesn't take long for the blue to overwhelm the red, and while the blue glow is fascinating, the fact that Baekhyun isn't feeling any pain is what swims into Baekhyun’s mind._

_And being the kind of boy who always speaks his mind (or doesn't possess a brain-to-mouth filter, as kindly put by his mother), Baekhyun immediately voices out his concern. “W-Why aren't my knees hurting even though these blue things are covering them?” He looks up at the boy, taking in the look of concentration on his face. The confused and worried expressions are gone, and Baekhyun is a tad disappointed about that. He doesn't know why, though, but files the thought away for later._

_The boy doesn't look up, but he replies in the same tone of voice that reminds Baekhyun of the spring breezes. “Because it isn't supposed to hurt in the first place. My healing ability soothes and heals; it doesn't hurt or cause pain to anyone.” The boy looks up then. “I'm a healer, if you do not know.”_

_Oh._ Oh, wow. _The stranger is a healer. A healer whose aura is blue. Huh, that's a colour that Baekhyun hasn't seen before, and mind you Baekhyun has seen healers before—there are a handful back in town—but the auras of the healers in his town are either red or yellow. So the appearance of this never-before-seen colour prompts Baekhyun to drop his eyes back to the blue glow around his knees, yet as much as the sight is pretty and Baekhyun is so much calmer than before, he finds himself not enraptured by the prettiness of it._

_Instead, he is discreetly sneaking peeks at the healer boy. The worried expression of furrowed brows and downward-tilting lips shouldn't be endearing, but it is to Baekhyun. The glow of the boy’s aura might be a little too bright for his eyes since darkness is quickly descending upon them, but it isn't affecting him much. The only thing that is affecting Baekhyun is the boy’s worried expression. Baekhyun doesn't know what's going on with him. Maybe he ought to see a doctor when he gets back home and tell his mother about his encounter with this stranger._

_A sudden sharp sting of pain on his knees pulls Baekhyun out of his thoughts, and he reflexively cries out. “I'm sorry,” The boy apologises. “I'm still training, y’see, so…”_

_“It's o-okay,” Baekhyun immediately says, and the shock of his unconscious answer must have shown on his face for the stranger snaps his head up and asks, “Are you alright? Are you, perhaps, hurt somewhere else?” It isn't hard for Baekhyun to know that the boy is worried about him, not when the stranger’s concern for him is so obvious in his tone._

_Baekhyun shakes his head. “N-No. I'm not hurt anywhere else.” He gingerly points to his knees, a bright blue glow still enveloping them. “Just my knees.”_

_The soft agreeing hum of the stranger is the last thing Baekhyun hears before silence lapses, and while he may enjoy noise—relishes in it, actually—Baekhyun finds himself perfectly at ease. The silence isn't overwhelming, doesn't suffocate him. It's a first for Baekhyun, and if he wants to admit, he would wish for more times like this. But of course that would mean seeing the stranger again, and being in his company once more. Would… Baekhyun want that?_

_Baekhyun has no answer at the moment, but the more important question seems to be—_ will I ever see you again…?

 

 

\---

 

 

Baekhyun carefully slots the last piece of a sliced rice roll into the remaining space of the snackbox. He pushes it off the blade of the knife, extreme gentleness evident in his movement after having experienced dozens of failed attempts and unrolling rice rolls each time he prepares them. Baekhyun never has been good at cooking. 

 

While humming a spontaneously-made tune, Baekhyun arranges the formation of the rice roll pieces, turning them so that the egg bits are on the left and the sausage bits are on the right. “So pretty,” Baekhyun coos to himself as he looks down at his creation, fingers clasping together, a satisfied smile blooming on his face. “Yellow on the left, pinkish-brown on the right! So, so pretty!” He proceeds to place the lid on the snackbox, locking it in place with a _clackclackclackclack_ , before putting it into his haversack. It’s placed snugly above a large piece of folded cloth, and Baekhyun fills his bag further with yet another snackbox—of washed and cut fruits, and a couple of bottles of water. As mentioned, Baekhyun never has been good at cooking, so one can never know if the food items in the snackboxes are _appropriately_ seasoned. Besides, drinking water is good. 

 

Baekhyun zips the haversack up, and sets it down gently right by the island counter where he can occasionally turn back to make sure that it’s still there. While there haven't been cases of theft in all of the years Baekhyun has lived in this cube he calls home, he doesn’t want to take any chances. 

 

Not when Yixing is coming home.

 

(Also, Baekhyun has worked hard on the food items, especially on the rice roll because whoever said that rolling rice rolls was easy— _coughYixingcough_ —ought to have themselves checked at the nearest doctor. Rolling rice rolls will _never_ be easy. N E V E R.)

 

Finishing up the washing of the cutlery and utensils used, Baekhyun leaves them in the drying rack to dry, before wiping his hands on the cloth hanging right above the rack. He picks up the haversack and traipses over to the door. The bag is set down, and Baekhyun sits next to it, hands forcing his feet into a pair of boots. The boots are dirty, terribly scuffed, with unidentifiable bits of anything and everything the forest has thrown at him over the years stuck to the bottom of his boots. Baekhyun doesn’t mind, though. He doesn’t even _care_. He only has this pair of boots for footwear and they’re comfortable, even as they enter their eleventh year of usage. Besides, they were a gift from Yixing.

 

Tugging the laces tight for one last time, Baekhyun pushes himself off the parquet flooring and shoves his arms through the straps of the haversack. He opens the door and steps out, door shutting softly behind him. Baekhyun doesn't lock it; there's no keyhole built in it in the first place. 

 

The forest is silent when Baekhyun takes a step past the first tree. It’s always silent, the forest. Baekhyun doesn’t remember a time when the forest was abuzz with activity, as though it’s uninhabited, empty, void of creatures save for himself and—well, only himself since Yixing hasn’t been by his side for the past ten years. But it won’t be like this much longer; Baekhyun will no longer be alone in this forest soon. For Yixing’s coming home. 

 

Baekhyun’s fingers leave the trunk of the tree, roughness of the bark vanishing beneath his fingertips. He stops then, turning his head back to look at his home. It is a little after noon, and the sun is directly overhead. In Baekhyun’s eyes, his home looks simply ethereal; the sun’s rays giving it a beautiful glow as they beam down from the skies, past the white clouds. The weather is nice, absolutely perfect—there shouldn’t be any problem or trouble in travelling. There shouldn’t be. 

 

Tearing his eyes away from the shut door, Baekhyun turns back and resumes his way into the forest. He walks through it quietly, eyes occasionally darting upwards to take in the beautiful sight of sunlight trying to filter its way past the canopy of leaves. Their futile, but appreciated, attempts leaves Baekhyun awed, the colours of the leaves impossibly green and gorgeous. A small smile forms on his face then, as Baekhyun remembers Yixing’s fascination with leaves. The wide-eye expression on Yixing’s face when they first arrived at the forest was adorably endearing; Baekhyun can never forget it. 

 

He continues to weave his way through the trees, his steps slow but certain. While it seems that Baekhyun might just be taking a stroll in the forest with no determined destination, he actually has one. He knows where he is supposed to go, even if he hasn’t been there in a decade. The Clearing—with a capital C because it is a location that Yixing named—is a meadow. It is _the_ place that had greeted both Yixing and Baekhyun the first time they stepped off the ship and onto the foreign planet. It was supposed to be a place that had held happy memories for Baekhyun, such as the tight hug that Yixing had given him when he squealed about how happy he was to finally be on the planet and that endearing awed expression when Yixing took in the beauty of the trees. Yet less than five years later it was also the place where Baekhyun had to reluctantly send Yixing off. It was an irony, an irony that Baekhyun dislikes. That memory isn’t pretty, isn’t happy at all. It’s filled with tears, childish tantrums, and a whole lot of screaming on Baekhyun’s part. He hadn’t wanted to part with Yixing, but an order was an order; no one can go against _them_. And so, Yixing was made to return to their home planet for business. For ten years. Ten. Years. 

 

Baekhyun hadn’t been certain of his survival, not when Yixing is not by his side. 

 

 

\---

 

 

_“Why are you always the one to find me when I’m crying…”_

_“Mm, I don't know, Baekhyun.”_

_“The heavens must really hate me,” Baekhyun grumbles. “Always showing my ugly side to you. I bet you don't want to see me anymore, don't want to be my friend any longer because my crying face is too ugly.” He removes his hand from Yixing’s lap, pretending to not have noticed the instant furrow of Yixing’s brows. “I bet you want to leave me.”_

_The sigh that slips past Yixing’s lips pricks at Baekhyun’s chest, the usual bout of guilt seeping into him. Yixing doesn't deserve these rants Baekhyun throws at him each time his crying self is found by Yixing. Yixing doesn't deserve to be bombarded by Baekhyun’s insecurities, by his constant worry that Yixing will leave him one day because Baekhyun always seems to be showing his weaknesses instead of his strengths. Yixing doesn't deserve to be blamed for the fact that he is always the one who sees Baekhyun at his lowest, in his most vulnerable state—when tears are welling in his eyes and Baekhyun doesn’t know how to stop them from falling._

_But Yixing does. He somehow always knows what to do to get Baekhyun to stop crying. From taking him into strong arms, wrapping protectively around him, tucking his head into his familiar warmth. Whispering softly to him and, then, Baekhyun stops. Stops crying, stops whimpering, breathes in Yixing’s scent. Comforting. Calming. Intoxicating. Yixing does this each and every time, and without fail Baekhyun’s tears stop falling. And it’s during these times does Baekhyun always think—_ know _—that he doesn't deserve Yixing. He will never deserve Yixing. Yet, Yixing always thinks otherwise, and he always lets Baekhyun know his ‘otherwise’ by coming to his rescue whenever Baekhyun needs someone._

_Needs someone to save him from himself._

_This time, it seems, is no different as Yixing makes his ‘otherwise’ known to Baekhyun. Again. “It's been eight years since we've met, Baekhyun,” Yixing says, his eyes looking down at his hands that are still on his lap; his hands are twisting each other. Baekhyun notices, and an instinct to slip his hands into Yixing’s to stop the action surges within him. It's strong, but so is Baekhyun’s stubbornness. In the end, his stubbornness wins and Yixing’s hands continue to twist themselves. “I've seen you cry so many times over the years that I've lost count. And yes, your crying face is, sometimes, really ugly–”_

_“I knew i–”_

_“–but if I wanted to leave, I would have left years ago.”_

_Eight years of friendship tells Baekhyun that Yixing is going to look up, eyes no doubt holding the overwhelming amount of affection that he wants Baekhyun to see, to remember that he is not going anywhere. But Baekhyun’s demon is himself. So it’s more often than not Baekhyun turns away, pointedly ignoring Yixing’s sincerity. This time, it’s no exception, and he immediately drops his head in a blatant pretense to look at his own hands. He feels Yixing’s eyes on him, and the intense wave of affection that washes over Baekhyun renders him immobile, fingers stopping in their twisting. Unfortunately, Yixing’s bad habit has rubbed off on him._

_“Baekhyun…” Yixing’s hands suddenly appear in Baekhyun’s lap, and they gently pry his hands apart. Then, he slips his fingers between Baekhyun’s. The move has Baekhyun freezing, though heat is surging inside his body, threatening to paint his cheeks the telltale shade of crimson that will no doubt tip Yixing off about his–_

_“I love you.”_

_His head snaps up so fast, Baekhyun fears that he might suffer from whiplash. And from the way his eyes have blown so big and round, he’s also surprised that they haven’t popped out. “H-Huh?” Baekhyun is_ also _surprised that Yixing hasn’t told him off for his apparent lack of response vocabulary. Then again, his mother is always reminding him of this so Baekhyun supposes he can do without Yixing’s contribution._

_The way Yixing is gazing at him makes Baekhyun hope. The beautiful, positive emotion coursing through his blood, his thumping heart pumping and sending this joyful feeling to the rest of his body. He feels his fingers twitching against Yixing’s knuckles; feels the corners of his lips itching to curl upwards into a smile; feels his heart wanting to rip itself out of Baekhyun’s chest and tear into Yixing’s to find his counterpart and live happily ever–_

_“I love you,” Yixing says, “as a friend.”_

_Hope evaporates from Baekhyun’s body before he could even feel another second of it. The beautiful, positive emotion skillfully evades all of Baekhyun’s futile attempts of capture as he questions Yixing, his stutter evident of his confusion. “W-What? You say you l-love me.” He tightens his grip on Yixing’s fingers. “You l-love me, but as a f-friend? Is that even p-possible?”_

_Baekhyun knows that he must look utterly dumb right now: fingers gripping onto Yixing’s super tightly, as though Yixing is going to leave him and never come back; face unconsciously edging itself closer to Yixing’s, eyes impossibly wide and Baekhyun realises that his vision is swimming because his pupils are shifting erratically. He has no control over his body, the control having left him when Yixing dealt him the card. The friend card._

_It’s not that Baekhyun doesn’t know Yixing’s feelings. He’s known about it for awhile now. Baekhyun’s not dumb, no matter what his mother and Chanyeol—or an occasional Kyungsoo—always remark about him. He knows that Yixing only treats him as a friend, although his actions and words seem to say otherwise. The hugs, the hand-holding, the light pecks on cheeks, and the utterly beautiful smiles that Yixing always sends Baekhyun’s way. What Yixing does with Baekhyun is never done with others, not even Chanyeol or Kyungsoo who are in their closest circle of friends. So how is Baekhyun supposed to not_ hope _that Yixing likes him more than a friend when everything seems to point towards that._

_“Baekhyun?”_

_Baekhyun thinks he hears Yixing, but in his state of distress and apparent lack of control over his mind and body, the soft call of his name is glossed over. It’s dangerous, this untamed side of Baekhyun, for when he’s like this, he’s more prone to unleashing his ability, letting loose from the tips of his fingers slivers of light that are sharp, fast, and deadly. Their course of travel is unpredictable, for Baekhyun has never learnt to harness his ability, to train himself to make himself less of a menace to his loved ones. The long scar on his mother’s forehead is something that Baekhyun forces himself to look at everyday in order to remind himself that he’s dangerous, that he’s an untamed monster. On days when Baekhyun feels in need of a much harsher reminder of who he is, he ventures into his mother’s bedroom and gazes at the only photo frame on her dresser. It’s the only family portrait of the Byuns, taken when Baekhyun was six. His father had passed away the next year, sacrificing himself to envelope Baekhyun, who was having a sudden meltdown due to something that Baekhyun doesn’t remember, and slivers of light were shooting out of his fingertips, barely missing the townsfolk around them. It was his fault that his father died. It was all Baekhyun’s–_

_“Baekhyun!”_

_A wave of heat floods into his head. It feels as though someone has shoved a beanie onto his head, the heat wrapping itself around his mind like those bandages Yixing sometimes have to administer for Baekhyun’s injuries. Yet, the heat itself is familiar. It’s so familiar, Baekhyun doesn’t even flinch when a telltale glow of blue erupts behind his eyes._

_“Baekhyun! Come back!”_

_And all of a sudden, Baekhyun finds himself staring into a pair of glossy eyes. He’s back. Pulled out of the darkness by the boy who’s saved him countless times. Baekhyun instinctively drops his head, or tries to for he discovers that Yixing had his hands on his head. After Yixing retracts his hands, Baekhyun’s eyes immediately flit to his fingertips. As per his expectation, his tips of his fingers are glowing yellow. His eyes dart slightly upwards; Yixing’s shirt is tattered and stained red. Baekhyun has never felt more of a monster than now._

_“Don’t.”_

_At Yixing’s voice, Baekhyun lifts his head, though he’s reluctant to look at Yixing, afraid of the emotions that he will come to know once their eyes meet. But it seems that Yixing has other plans, for Baekhyun finds his head being tilted up even more, his friend’s searching gaze forcing eye contact—“Baekhyun, look at me.”—and Baekhyun complies. Yixing’s eyes hold relief, and only relief. Baekhyun has never wanted to be wrong so much than now._

_“I’m alright,” Yixing says, his voice so soft, so gentle, so soothing, so calming, so Zhang Yixing. “I’m going to heal myself, so I’ll be okay. Don’t blame yourself, because it’s not your fault.” Yixing’s hand comes up to Baekhyun’s face, fingertips brushing back strands of hair. “It’s not your fault,” repeats Yixing. “Not… your fault, Baekhyun.”_

_The way his name rolls so beautifully off Yixing’s tongue makes Baekhyun ache, because he knows there will be no other way Yixing will say his name. It will always be in a friendly tone, nothing more, because they’re friends. Best friends, always._

_So it’s with pain blossoming silently in his chest does Baekhyun muster up whatever tiny bits of positivity he has within him to smile. Baekhyun has never wanted to get away from Yixing so much than now._

 

 

\---

 

 

“Phew,” wheezes Baekhyun, as he uses the back of both his hands to wipe at the perspiration on his forehead. He then cleans his hands on his jeans, before removing his haversack and setting it down at the base of the tree. Placing a hand at his hip, Baekhyun surveys the expanse of green in front of him. The Clearing looks exactly as it was the last time Baekhyun had been here a decade ago; the huge patch of grass still so green, surrounded by trees whose leaves are eerily in the same shade as well. Yixing will be delighted to return to such a sight.

 

He takes one last sweep of the Clearing, a corner of his lips rising at the image of Yixing’s smile that will no doubt spread so beautifully across his face the moment he steps off the ship and takes in the beauty around him. Baekhyun can’t wait to see it, to see _him_. With rejuvenated vigour, he sets about the tasks that he has planned while on the short journey to this place. Without rest, Baekhyun unpacks the contents of his haversack, taking out and carefully placing the food items to a side while he throws out the cloth mat that he’s somehow managed to shove through the straps of his endurable bag. The shade provided by Baekhyun’s chosen tree with the widest spread of branches and thickest umbrella of leaves darkens the purple colour of the mat, but it still contrasts prettily with the grass’ dark shade of green. Yixing will be pleased. 

 

Baekhyun tugs off his boots, haphazardly leaving them in disarray at the edge of the mat while he steps onto it with his socked feet. He busies himself with the arrangement of the food items until he feels a prickle at the back of his neck, and his face scrunches up. Baekhyun lets out a sigh. “Fine,” He grumbles, turning his back on the food containers to walk with his knees to his boots. “Even though you’re probably light years away, I still feel you glaring at me for not putting my boots upright. Sheesh.” Baekhyun reaches out for his boots, drawing them them to the edge of the mat where he’s seated himself. For the next few minutes, he does up his laces nicely whilst reciting the ‘rabbit ears’ rhyme first sang by Yixing when he realised that Baekhyun could not tie his laces. The first time Baekhyun heard the rhyme, to be honest, he thought it was weird. But as Yixing kept nagging at him to recite it while attempting to tie his laces, he eventually grew to like it, finding it adorable whenever Yixing acquiesced to his requests and sang it while Baekhyun laced his footwear.

 

With a gentle pull and the last word of the rhyme, Baekhyun finishes. He arranges his boots neatly right at the edge, and gazes at them forlornly for a few moments. “A little while more,” Baekhyun murmurs. “Just a little while more.” Then he lifts his head up to the sky, eyes squinting a little as narrow slivers of sunlight that have managed to penetrate the leaves shine on his face. 

 

“Just a little while more and I’ll have you in my arms.” And a small, knowing smile forms on his face. 

 

 

\---

 

 

_“Baekhyun, can I ask you… something?”_

_“Mm, sure.”_

_“Do you like Kyungsoo?”_

_Baekhyun’s eyes fly open. “W-What?” He splutters, extremely taken aback by Yixing’s sudden question. Dropping his head to look at the face of the boy who has taken upon himself to use Baekhyun’s lap as a pillow, Baekhyun splutters again. “What a-are you talking about?”_

_Yixing hasn’t turned to face Baekhyun, though Baekhyun is quick to notice that Yixing has his lower lip between his teeth—a clear sign of nervousness. Baekhyun doesn’t understand why Yixing would be nervous, or why he has asked such a question. Baekhyun is baffled, and the fact that he was about to doze off before this happened isn’t helping his sleep-addled mind to find answers._

_“Well… I–” There is a slight tremble in Yixing’s voice, which makes Baekhyun even more confused. “Yesterday I almost walked in on Chanyeol confessing to Kyungsoo in the stairwell and overheard Kyungsoo rejecting him.”_

_Baekhyun doesn’t know what’s going on, why Yixing is talking about Chanyeol’s failed confession to Kyungsoo. He already knows it, heard about it from the jilted boy himself. Baekhyun returned home last night with his shoulder wet and dirty from Chanyeol’s tears and snot. His mother hadn’t been pleased at first, but after hearing of Chanyeol’s plight, she told Baekhyun to send him her condolences. Baekhyun realised, then, who he inherited his sense of humour from._

_But Baekhyun still can’t figure out what is Yixing driving at. First he asked if he likes Kyungsoo, then he brings up Chanyeol’s confession to Kyungsoo. Huh. Baekhyun really doesn’t know what’s going on. “Um, so…? How does that link to me liking Kyungsoo?”_

_Never has Baekhyun seen a person move that fast—especially if said person is Yixing—and in a split second, he finds himself with a lapful of Yixing, who is all wide-eyed and grabby hands. The tight grip of Yixing’s fingers around Baekhyun’s thin arms actually hurt a little, but he can’t find it in himself to say anything about it because he’s surprised. Surprised at the waves of shock that are rolling off of Yixing. Surprised at Yixing’s next words._

_“So you do like Kyungsoo.”_

_“WHAT,” Baekhyun screeches immediately, his confusion shooting off the charts and finally making its appearance. “What are you talking about, Yixing?_ I _like Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun scoffs, and waves a hand dismissively. “You must be kidding me.”_

 _Confusion floods Yixing’s face, and if Yixing hadn’t looked so serious before, Baekhyun would have cooed and pinched his friend’s cheeks because Yixing always looks so adorable when he’s confused. Alas, Yixing_ had _looked serious so Baekhyun decides to keep his hands to himself. He fists his hands into the fabric of his shorts instead. A much safer option._

_“But… Chanyeol asked Kyungsoo if he– if he likes you and Kyungsoo nodded his head,” Yixing says, and_ ugh can he stop _looking at Baekhyun as though his favourite sheep stuffed toy has been snatched away by that brat of a neighbour Lu Han. Baekhyun doesn’t like to wrestle with Lu Han, what with those strong thighs that could suffocate him until next Tuesday, but Yixing’s kicked puppy expression always has been his downfall, always has him waving the white flag while he stomps over to Lu Han’s to demand for the sheep back. But the gentle and careful way Yixing cares for Baekhyun’s bruises thereafter makes all the trouble worthwhile._

_“Kyungsoo’s lying,” Baekhyun says. “He just wants to let Chanyeol down easy.”_

_“But…”_

_“I don’t like Kyungsoo that way, Yixing.” Baekhyun releases the grip on his shorts. He keeps his eyes on Yixing, the corners of his lips itching to rise as surprise floods Yixing’s face. Yixing is never one to hide what he feels, an open book for Baekhyun—or anybody, actually—to read. This time is no exception. “He’s my friend, so I like Kyungsoo_ only _as a friend. Besides, the one he likes is Chanyeol, even though he rejected him.” Baekhyun doesn’t know why but he gingerly reaches over to rest a hand on Yixing’s shoulder. He tries not to read too much into the way Yixing instantly relaxes under his touch._

_“So… you really don’t like Kyungsoo the way Chanyeol likes him…?”_

_Eh. Baekhyun has said quite a lot but Yixing only seems to want to talk about how he doesn’t like Kyungsoo that way. This is rather strange, but Baekhyun goes along with it anyway. “Yes, Yixing,” He answers, fingers applying a little pressure on Yixing’s shoulder. “I really do not like Kyungsoo that way.” A smile easily forms on Baekhyun’s face as the corners of Yixing’s lips begin to rise._

_“Besides, if I have to like anyone that way, that someone would be you.”_

_Oh shit. What did Baekhyun just say. What did Baekhyun just blurt out due to his non-existent brain-to-mouth filter. His eyes are blown wide, jaw slacking, and Baekhyun immediately darts his eyes to Yixing’s face, fear of meeting with an expression that he doesn’t want to see washing over him. He doesn’t want to see a disgusted expression on Yixing’s face, nor does he want to see an apologetic one. If anything, Baekhyun hopes that Yixing hasn’t heard it at all._

_Thankfully, it seems that luck is on his side. Yixing’s facial expression is that of contentment; there is no flash of surprise or acknowledgment of having heard Baekhyun’s unintentional slip of words. The only thing that might tell Baekhyun of Yixing having heard him is the small smile on the healer’s face. But nah, it can’t be. There’s no way Yixing will be happy to hear that Baekhyun (still) has feelings for him, not when Baekhyun is pretty sure of Yixing’s feelings for Kyungsoo. This is probably why he asked if Baekhyun likes Kyungsoo– But, wait. Yixing knows that Chanyeol likes Kyungsoo, and Baekhyun has just mentioned that Kyungsoo reciprocates that feeling. Huh? Baekhyun is conf–_

_“Are you alright, Baekhyun?”_

_Yixing’s voice snaps Baekhyun out of his thoughts, and he finds himself looking at a worried Yixing. Baekhyun brings a finger up to Yixing’s furrowed brows, and gently presses against the part where the brows meet, trying to ease them apart. After Yixing’s expression returns to a neutral state, Baekhyun replies, “I’m okay. Always has been okay, Yixing.” And Baekhyun slaps on a bright smile that will hopefully convince Yixing of his small white lie. Baekhyun_ is _okay, but he’s not_ always _okay._

_The look on Yixing’s face tells Baekhyun that he’s not convinced. Panic seeps into Baekhyun a little, and he hurriedly changes the atmosphere by throwing himself at Yixing, using his weight to push Yixing onto his back, and onto the grass. They land in a fit of giggles, limbs tangled together, and amidst the contentment that descends upon them, Baekhyun’s white lie is forgotten._

 

 

\---

 

 

Baekhyun is absentmindedly staring at the same numbers that he has been staring at for the past hour or so when the metal piece placed on his lap suddenly _pings_. It takes a couple of seconds of the sound for Baekhyun to snap out of his daze, but he immediately shrinks the date and time to bring up a grid map. 

 

It’s instantaneous. The moment Baekhyun sees the tiny red dot on the map, his dormant happiness ignites, erupting within him as he jumps up and starts screaming. The silence of the Clearing is shattered by Baekhyun’s screams and whoops of unadulterated elation, but even so, nothing stirs in the forest and it remains eerily silent. Baekhyun doesn’t register that he’s crying until he tastes saltiness in his mouth, but what are tears to him when there are other, _better_ matters to be concerned about. Crumpling back onto the mat, Baekhyun shakily reaches for the metal piece, that had been carelessly dropped off his lap when he had leapt up from his sitting position, and throws up the map, enlarging it in mid-air. 

 

“Finally,” Baekhyun breathes out, eyes never straying from the red dot that is cruising slowly across the grid. The metal piece is on his lap once more—Baekhyun having sat back down onto the mat—and the large grid map has his rapt attention. He continues to gaze at it, a corner of his lips unconsciously rising for Baekhyun is visualising in his mind the actual object that the red dot represents. 

 

Yixing would be in the ship, seated in the driver’s seat. An utterly gorgeous smile would be on his face, his adorably dimply dimple on his right cheek. His legs might be shaking, hands trembling on the steering controls— _oh gosh, I hope they’re not, though_ —because Yixing’s excitement is threatening to burst forth since he’s so close to seeing Baekhyun again. It’s been ten years. Ten. Years. There’s no way Yixing doesn’t miss him. No fucking way. 

 

And it’s with this image in his head, plus a wide grin (or in Yixing’s words, _a rectangular smile_ ), Baekhyun keeps his eyes fixated on the red dot. The fact that the metal piece has picked up on the ship’s signal implies that the vehicle is within range, and has probably entered the planet’s territories. Yixing must be close. He _must_ be. 

 

Baekhyun continues to stare, occasionally blinking to prevent himself from spacing out and filling his vision with unnecessary red. The red dot is now almost at the edge of the metal piece, and Baekhyun softly places the tip of his index on the screen to move the map until the red dot is back at the top. Baekhyun grumbles under his breath on why the map can’t refresh on its own, needing him to manually shift it in order to keep Yixing’s ship on the screen. But then again, he knows why; it’s been almost fifteen years since Baekhyun left his home planet, and the metal piece has been with him since his mother handed it to him just before he left. There probably have been batches of upgrades since then but Baekhyun has no access to them. He doesn’t _want_ to have access anyway. Anything that has to do with his home planet, Baekhyun wants to _vehemently_ avoid.

 

Well, then, since he still doesn’t want to have anything to do with the planet from which he was born on, Baekhyun has to suck it up and manually move the map on his screen. He doesn’t mind anyway. Not when the red dot shows how close he is to seeing Yixing again. 

 

 

\---

 

 

_“Where are you taking me?”_

_A giggle._

_“You’re giggling,” Baekhyun deadpans. “I should be afraid.”_

_Another giggle._

_Genuine fear begins to wash over Baekhyun. “Okay. You’re officially scaring me, Yixing.” He begins to resist the hold Yixing has on both his wrists, trying to pry them apart and out of Yixing’s hand. Baekhyun also starts shaking his upper body, a weak attempt to try to shake the arm swung across his shoulders. He knew that Yixing was strong, but not_ this _strong._

_“Why are you scared?” Yixing’s voice comes from beside him, and even though Yixing asked softly, the question is loud in Baekhyun’s ears for the silence of the hour after midnight is deafening. “You know I won’t bring harm to you, Baekhyun.”_

_Baekhyun can hear the slight hurt in Yixing’s retort, and almost regrets saying anything but in his defense, his current emotion of fear is perfectly justified. Firstly, he wasn’t expecting Yixing to knock on his front door close to midnight. Secondly, Baekhyun wasn’t expecting to be pulled out of his house, his protesting splutters of_ I’m inappropriately dressed! _ignored, and be blindfolded. Lastly, Yixing hasn’t muttered a single word until just now. (Alright, Baekhyun hadn’t asked anything until_ just now _either.)_

_So, Baekhyun just slaps on a withering look, hoping that Yixing is looking at him and seeing how put-out he actually is from all this mysteriousness Yixing is putting him through. “Fine, I’ll just wait and see, then.”_

_“You won’t be let down!”_

_The delight—and subtle pride—in Yixing’s tone makes Baekhyun crack the first smile ever since he was dragged out._

_(Or not, seeing how Yixing has been holding onto his wrists and Baekhyun can’t help but imagine other things—)_

_“I hope that I won’t be, too,” Baekhyun immediately says, mentally slapping himself for daring to imagine anything at all. He drops the withering look, deciding to not tease Yixing any further. He hadn’t meant to hurt Yixing. Yixing doesn’t deserve to be hurt. Yixing doesn’t deserve to feel any negative emotions at all, in Baekhyun’s opinion. And yeah, Baekhyun still, well,_ feels _for Yixing. But he won’t let it be known to Yixing, won’t let it be a burden to Yixing. Baekhyun won’t let his feelings affect his beautiful friendship with Yixing._

_Baekhyun is so absorbed in his thoughts, he almost misses hearing Yixing’s voice. He does, however, blurt out a dumb_ huh _. Yixing’s laugh makes him blush, embarrassment washing over him and he feels Yixing’s hand leave his wrists. The lack of contact with another sends Baekhyun into panic, for he’s still blindfolded and it’s so dark and Baekhyun is really afraid now because where is he where is Yixing where—_

_“Baekhyun, I’m here.”_

_A pair of hands suddenly cup Baekhyun’s face._

_“I’m here.”_

_Thumbs gently rub circles on the apples of Baekhyun’s cheeks and he instantly relaxes, recognising the warmth emanating from the fingertips. Something about his face or body must have betrayed his fear, or Yixing must have known—this ability to read each other comes with friendship. Hidden behind the blindfold, Baekhyun shuts his eyes and focuses on the movements upon his cheeks. It’s soothing and calming, and Yixing always has a way to calm Baekhyun down. From that first time they met, when Baekhyun was six and Yixing was seven, to this very moment twelve years later—Yixing always has a way._

_“Are you feeling better now?” Yixing’s voice is so near, Baekhyun feels it, feels those five words peppering their concern on his trembling lips. And Baekhyun wants to say_ I’m okay _by pressing his lips onto Yixing’s. But he can’t, and shan’t, because that is dangerous. A dangerous thought, a dangerous move. Something that Baekhyun should never attempt because he cherishes Yixing. Cherishes his friendship. Cherishes these times with him. Because frankly there would be no Baekhyun if there was no Yixing. And Baekhyun would like to stay by Yixing’s side for as long as he can._

_“I’m okay,” is Baekhyun’s reply. He doesn’t dare to nod, doesn’t dare to move his head for fear of any part of his face meeting with any part of Yixing’s; he still feels heat on his lips. Baekhyun distracts himself from that by asking, “Why did we stop? Have we reached your destination?”_

_Yixing’s hands leave Baekhyun’s face and it takes so much for Baekhyun to not slide his lower lip out into a pout due to the loss of that familiar warmth, only to cock his brows slightly when he feels the same warmth at the back of his head. Yixing is untying the blindfold. “Keep your eyes closed, alright! Don’t peek!”_

_Baekhyun immediately squeezes his eyes tight and his face must have been pretty funny for Yixing’s beautiful laugh rings out in the silence. Baekhyun hopes the darkness obscures the telltale shade of crimson rapidly colouring his cheeks. He feels warm. Baekhyun also feels Yixing’s fingers gently grazing his eyelids, fingertips resting on the bridge of his nose, heels of palms on his temples._

_“Take four steps forward.”_

_Baekhyun doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t question. He takes four steps forward with Yixing’s hands on his face._

_“Baekhyun.” Yixing’s voice comes from behind him, and the back of Baekhyun’s neck tingles. “Count to ten for me.”_

_Once again, Baekhyun doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t question. He starts counting, and when he finally reaches the end, he feels Yixing’s hands slowly slide off his face… only to rest on his shoulders._

_“Open your eyes.”_

_And Baekhyun opens his eyes._

_“Happy birthday, Baekhyun.”_

_Accompanying Yixing’s gentle wish is the sight of the full moon hanging in the obsidian sky, a white orb shining so proudly in the darkness that surrounds it. It’s beautiful, but it’s not as beautiful as the set-up it is shining its silver light on. Bathed by the moonlight is a single mat spread out on the grass—which Baekhyun belatedly realises as the meadow he and Yixing always go to—and held down by four jars filled with–_

_“Are those… fireflies?” Baekhyun asks, incredulity coating his words. He doesn’t hide his surprise, letting his jaw drop as he slowly sinks to his knees and reaches out to the nearest jar. It’s filled with a couple of fireflies, a small number of yellow blinking light whose beauty rivals the consistent silver light beaming down from above._

_Yixing squats next to him and nods. “Uh huh. Took me the whole of last night to catch them all because I think it’d be rather inhumane to keep them in the jars for too long and I was afraid that they’d die in these jars so– oof!”_

_Baekhyun had thrown himself onto Yixing, a hand fisting Yixing’s shirt, the other still clutching onto the jar of fireflies that’s now wedged uncomfortably between the two of them. Baekhyun’s face has made its way to the crook of Yixing’s neck and he doesn’t care how Yixing is squirming beneath him and how he feels Yixing’s hands sliding up his back and how warm Yixing’s chest is against his. Baekhyun only cares about one thing right now._

_“Thank you,” Baekhyun says, lifting his head to look at Yixing. The eye contact is instant, as though their eyes have been searching for one another and when Baekhyun locks his gaze with Yixing, affection for his best friend explodes within him, sending pulses of happiness coursing in his blood. “Thank you,” He repeats, hoping for Yixing to hear his genuine sincerity in those two words. But if he didn’t hear it the first or the second time, Yixing can hear it again. “Thank you.” And again. “Thank you.” And–_

_“You’re welcome, Baek–”_

_“Thank you, Yixing.”_

_Baekhyun’s eyes never leave Yixing’s, and the two of them stare at each other for a moment before the corners of Yixing’s lips shoot upwards, an imprint of a dimple appearing, and Yixing’s wondrous laugh fills Baekhyun’s ears. That delightful sound never fails to send Baekhyun’s heart into overdrive. The day where Baekhyun goes into cardiac arrest is probably not far away, and Baekhyun would gladly experience it even if Yixing’s laugh is the last sound he hears in his short but fulfilled life. He’s spent three quarters of his life with Yixing. There are no regrets. None at all._

_“Happy birthday, Baekhyun.”_

_Yixing smiles then, and Baekhyun thinks that next to Yixing’s laugh, his gorgeous smile and adorable dimple are things that he will never tire of. Because it’s Yixing. Because he’s Yixing, the healer boy Baekhyun fell in love with, and is_ still _in love with. Baekhyun hopes that this feeling he has for Yixing will never fade, and he thinks it won’t. Not when Yixing is smiling so brightly at him._

 

 

\---

 

 

Baekhyun has never ran so fucking fast in his life. He has never had to dart under low-lying branches, or jump over protruding roots while running. He has also never had to bite back hisses of pain when he misjudges his height and his face smacks right into dangling bunches of leaves, the edges scratching his face in the process. The wounds must be bleeding, because the coolness of the breeze that’s slapping against Baekhyun’s face as he runs is painful. He doesn’t dare to drag a hand across his face, doesn’t dare to waste time. Not when there isn’t any time for Baekhyun to do so. 

 

He had seen it at the same time the metal piece _pings_ , a familiar-looking ship suddenly appearing in the clear sky. The small dot soon grew bigger, and it became ever larger, and large enough for Baekhyun to make out the different parts of the ship that he’d last seen ten years ago. The ship that took Yixing away from him. But it’s back now, and as the ship grew bigger and bigger, and clearer and clearer in Baekhyun’s eyes, Baekhyun could hardly contain his excitement, unadulterated adrenaline imploding within him, making him jump up and down at where his boots used to be. He had hastily slipped into them while keeping his eyes on the small black dot then. 

 

The ship was about the size of Baekhyun’s fist, if he held it up to the sky, when it happened. 

 

The back of the ship suddenly exploded, and bits and pieces—both small and big—of metal flew in varying degrees of arcs in the air before falling. There was a raging fire where the boosters were. The booster flames seemed to have succumbed to the new and more powerful fire, abandoning their job of keeping the ship in the air and with the boosters probably ripped apart, the ship was clearly not flying any longer. 

 

And all it took was another blast somewhere in the middle of the ship, separating the cockpit from the downed boosters, for Baekhyun to start running. 

 

“Ugh!” Baekhyun trips, the front of his boot encountering something hard and he falls forward, slamming painfully into the ground. He doesn’t pause or stop to lament about the pain that is imploding within his chest, palms immediately at his side to push himself up and off Baekhyun goes. His lungs are screaming for oxygen, his brain is yelling at him to stop and _breathe_ and his calves feel like they’re on fire but Baekhyun doesn’t stop. He will never stop, not until he reaches the crash site. Not until he reaches Yixing. 

 

Baekhyun had approximately judged where the ship would crash when he looked up at the sky for the last time before stepping out of the Clearing and towering trees proceeded to block his sight of the sky and of Yixing’s trail. He doesn’t know how long he had ran, how fast he had ran, nor how far he is from his location. Baekhyun also doesn’t hear the _whoosh_ of the wind that grazes his ears, doesn’t hear his heavy pants and wheezes, doesn’t hear the pounding of his boots on the forest floor. He ignores the mental screamo fest happening in his head. All Baekhyun hears is the thunder of his thumping heart, the crackle of fear that continuously strikes at his heart. The fear that Yixing might be–

 

 _No_ , Baekhyun instantly tells himself. _Yixing is fine. He is fine. He probably ejected himself from the cockpit and is currently finding a way to get to Baekhyun and reunite and Baekhyun will see that there is no scratch on his boyfriend’s beautiful flawless skin._

 

Yixing is fine. He has to be. 

 

It’s in this state of mind when Baekhyun sees it. A frighteningly bright red orange yellow red orange yellow in the distance, amongst the numerous trunks of brown and leaves of green. Baekhyun dashes towards it. And when he pushes himself past the last trunk, a ear-shatteringly loud crackle of lightning strikes at his heart and Baekhyun then hears the deafening thunder of his heart shattering. For the ship, though having crash landed in the earth, is actually still holding up even without the back half of itself. It is the cockpit that caught Baekhyun’s attention, and the instant he darts his eyes towards it, large waves of fear and terror and horror and any other word that can be used to describe utter fear wash over him, drowning him. The glass pane of the cockpit is not transparent as it should be. 

 

Instead, it’s splattered with red. 

 

The forest has never heard a more heart wrenching and bloodcurdling scream of a healer boy’s name.

 

 

\---

 

 

_Baekhyun hears the door slam behind him and he turns around to find an enraged Yixing in his room. There’s barely any time for Baekhyun to be surprised because Yixing immediately says, “When were you going to tell me.”_

_Ah. Baekhyun knows where this is going._

_“Who told you?”_

_Yixing’s surprise at Baekhyun’s almost-instant reply is written all over his face. Baekhyun suppresses the urge to smile at the adorable expression. He barely succeeds, and turns back, deciding to return to what he had been doing before._

_“My mother,” Yixing deadpans. Baekhyun hears him take a step, floorboards creaking under Yixing’s weight. Baekhyun doesn’t turn around, though. He continues folding his clothes. “I could tell that something was bothering her so I asked and she blurted it out.”_

_Baekhyun freezes, though it’s only momentary. A second later, he’s back to folding his clothes. “Ah. I counted on her to keep it from you until I–”_

_“Until you what?”_

_“–reached whichever planet they’re sending me to.”_

_Baekhyun was about to put down the folded shirt in his hands when a hand grips his shoulder and whirls him around. Once again, Baekhyun is taken aback by Yixing’s strength—he knew that Yixing is strong, but not this strong. He doesn’t let the surprise show, schools his face into a blank expression. “I was going to write you a virtual letter and send it to you. This way, I won’t have to face your wrath.”_

_“Coward.”_

_Baekhyun just nods._

_“You’re a coward.”_

_“I am.” Baekhyun is not even going to deny Yixing’s accusation because he knows it’s true. He’s a coward, and his cowardice is what led him to the decision. “I’m a coward.”_

_Yixing is staring heatedly at Baekhyun. The supposedly murderous glare with fire in Yixing’s eyes isn’t making Baekhyun feel fear. In fact, Baekhyun isn’t feeling anything. Regret, guilt, amusement; there’s none of these at all. There’s absolutely nothing._

_“Were you not going to say goodbye to me?”_

_“Yeah,” Baekhyun replies, not in the least surprised that the answer slipped out of his mouth so easily. He’d really planned to leave without telling anyone, without bidding goodbye to anyone. Without seeing the people he holds close to his heart for the last time in his life. “I wasn’t going to. I was just going to leave quietly.”_

_The heat in Yixing’s eyes suddenly vanishes and his entire face softens. An unidentified emotion flashes in the eyes Baekhyun has seen everyday for most of his life but before he can chase after it, Yixing is shutting his eyes. He takes a deep breath, and says, “And leave me behind?”_

_Yixing’s whisper is so soft, Baekhyun almost misses it. Almost. Baekhyun would never miss any of Yixing’s words, and so far he hasn’t. And Baekhyun would like to keep it this way, would like to leave with this (useless) record of having never missed a single word of his best friend. ~~The love of his life.~~ _

_“You’re leaving your best friend of fourteen years behind?”_

_“I am.”_

_“H-How could you?”_

_The tears welling in Yixing’s eyes when he reopens them should affect Baekhyun. He knows that Yixing is someone who doesn’t cry easily, doesn’t show his weaknesses to anyone that he doesn’t trust. Baekhyun may be his best friend of fourteen years but he can count the number of times he has seen Yixing shedding tears on a single hand; two times due to pranks pulled by the childish Chanyeol and dumb Lu Han. Yixing really doesn’t cry easily, but yet, here he is, tears welling in his eyes. And Baekhyun feels nothing, or he_ wills _himself to feel nothing. It’s getting harder to keep the blank expression on his face from sliding off. “I can.”_

_“You’re horrible.”_

_“I know,” Baekhyun drawls, tilting his head slightly to keep up with his act of indifference. It’s getting impossibly difficult to not wipe the tears streaking down Yixing’s beautiful face; Baekhyun grips his shirt tighter. “I also know that I’m terrible, that I’m a monster. That I’m a coldblooded murderer.”_

_Baekhyun stares at Yixing long enough to see him bringing his hands up to wipe his tears with the back of them. He looks away while Yixing is doing that, and was about to turn back when Yixing says, “But you don’t have to leave.”_

_He feels Yixing’s eyes on him, an unsaid request for Baekhyun to look at him burning on his skin. Baekhyun ignores it and turns his back on Yixing. The gaze heats up, letting Baekhyun know that Yixing isn’t pleased._

_“Why… didn’t you ask me?”_

_The hesitation and softness of Yixing’s question catches Baekhyun off guard. He wasn’t expecting Yixing to go soft, since his gaze seems to be the opposite. But Baekhyun doesn’t care, or that’s what he tells himself. “Ask you what?”_

_“To join you in the programme. To follow you to whichever planet they’re sending you to.”_

_Baekhyun has expected the question, and he has an answer ready. The answer is part of his decision to not tell anyone about his application, especially Yixing. But it’s horrid, and absolutely stupid. It’s the ‘dumb noble sacrifice’ that his mother always complains about while watching those soap dramas. Baekhyun used to agree with her, but now that he’s facing one himself, he thinks he understands what the characters were going through to want to give up and sacrifice themselves._

_“Baekhyun.” The exasperation in Yixing’s voice is obvious, and it’s taking all of Baekhyun’s determination to not whirl around and hug the life out of his best friend and eternal love of his life. He’s honestly tired, exhausted of shouldering this burden alone and would very much want to share it with someone. But how could he? How could he dare to enshroud another with his darkness? A darkness that he can never escape from._

_“Baekhyun, why didn’t you talk to me before applying?” Yixing’s hands appear on the shirt that Baekhyun’s still gripping tightly. He feels the tug, but doesn’t let go, stubborn fingers still curling in the white fabric. It’s ironic, because if Baekhyun remembers clearly this shirt is one of the many shirts gifted to him by Yixing, his scholarship rendering him able to spend while Baekhyun can hardly afford a cup of tea at the cheapest of eateries in town._

_It is this stark difference between Yixing and him that contributed to Baekhyun’s decision as well. The fact that Yixing is a scholarship holder while Baekhyun is nothing. Nothing but a murderer in the eyes of everyone, including himself. Which is why Baekhyun replies, “How could I?”_

_He knows that Yixing might not have heard it, seeing how a frustratingly adorable expression of confusion flits onto Yixing’s face. “Could you repeat that? I didn’t catch what you said? Please? Please, Baekhyun.”_

_The tug on the shirt is hard and Baekhyun’s fingers almost surrender to Yixing. He doesn’t want to let go but Yixing’s pleading expression is hard to ignore. Baekhyun unconsciously sighs. “How could I ask you? How could I_ dare _to ask you?”_

_Yixing’s response is instantaneous. “Why not? You know I–”_

_“Because you have a future here. Your future is bright, so bright here, Yixing. You knew what you wanted to be, and worked hard towards achieving it. You got the scholarship and everyone knows how that’s practically a guaranteed spot in the hospital. And me? I have none of that.” Baekhyun doesn’t like how childish and whiny he sounds, but there’s nothing he can do about it. He’s tired. So close to giving up. So close to wanting to let down his defenses and throw caution to the wind._

_Yixing is not making things easier for him._

_“You do–”_

_“Don’t lie in my face. You know I don’t have a future here.” Yixing’s reply riles Baekhyun up. He’s so close to shouting. It’s getting harder and harder to keep his cool. “You know how bleak my life is. There’s nothing for me here if I stay, Yixing.”_

_Yixing looks as though he’s been struck across his face. “Nothing? There’s_ nothing _for you here?”_

_“You know how much I wanted to leave this town, this planet and travel to another to start anew. To not be judged for something that happened so long ago yet everybody remembers it as though it happened only yesterday. You don’t know how it feels to have people looking at you as though you’re monster, a murderer. You don’t know how it feels, Yixing. And you never will.”_

_Baekhyun is beginning to crack. Beginning to throw caution into the winds, walls starting to shatter with every word that spills from his mouth, with every truth and anxiety and frustration pouring out of his very soul. The darkness within him is not lessening, though. It never seems to decrease no matter how hard Baekhyun tries. There’s only so much one can take before giving up. This is why Baekhyun allows his inner demons to claw at him—he’s given up. A long time ago._

_“Baekhyun, you’re no–”_

_“My father died because of me, Yixing. He was lacerated to death out on the streets in broad daylight by his very own son who couldn’t fucking control his temper and ended up lashing out in deadly slivers of light.”_

_“N–”_

_“So how could I? How could I ask someone whose future is at the opposite end of the spectrum to come with me? And you know what? They didn’t even bat an eyelid while approving my registration; they instantly accepted me. Goes to show how much they hate me, how much they want me gone.”_

_Yixing may have been by his side, but Baekhyun always has been enshrouded in darkness. The light that is Zhang Yixing doesn’t have the ability to penetrate and shine its beautiful and warm light on him. But Baekhyun knows that’s not the case. Yixing does have that ability, it’s Baekhyun who doesn’t allow Yixing to step into his darkness. There’s only so much another can take before wanting to leave so why would Baekhyun want to experience pain again when he can prevent himself from getting hurt?_

_“I can’t say anything for other people,” Yixing says. “But there’s one thing I can say.”_

_“And what’s that.”_

_“I don’t want you gone.”_

_The sincerity in Yixing’s words almost shatters Baekhyun’s walls. The stubborn in his fingers almost vanishes, and Baekhyun almost allows Yixing to take away the shirt in his hands. Almost._

_“I don’t want you gone, Baekhyun.”_

_And there is it again. The genuinity of Yixing. It has begun to attack Baekhyun’s defenses, rendering the brick and mortar of darkness useless against whatever Yixing’s genuinity contains. The reparation is exhausting Baekhyun, so it’s not hard to not just_ snap _._

_“So? Are you going to leave with me? Are you going to leave everything you’ve worked so hard for? Can you bear to?”_

_If Baekhyun is the recipient of his harsh tone and cold words, he would have flinched and broke down. Yet, Yixing is still standing. Tall, straight, and face unbelievably clean. “I can. I would. I would leave with you, Baekhyun, if you asked.”_

_“You’re crazy. You’ve gone nuts, Yixing.”_

_“I would have said yes, Baekhyun.”_

_“And why would you? Why would anyone in the right frame of mind give up whatever you have to follow someone who’s given up on life to another planet just to escap–”_

_“Because I love you.”_

_“–what?”_

_“I would say yes because I love you.”_

_Baekhyun can hardly believe his ears. What did Yixing just say. What did Yixing just fucking say. Did he… just say what Baekhyun has been wanting to hear–_

_“No. You’re lying.”_

_“I love you, Baekhyun.”_

_“You’re lying.” Baekhyun’s demons are stirring. Shit. Yixing has to go, before Baekhyun explodes and drowns him with his darkness. “Leave. Now.”_

_“I love you, Byun Baekhyun!” Yixing is yelling now, tears streaming down his face as his lips stay parted, loud breaths peppering the silence of Baekhyun’s room. “I really do love you.”_

_Yixing loves Baekhyun. Yixing loves Baekhyun. Yixing_ loves _Baekhyun._

_“I know you love me too, because I see it in your eyes every single time I look at them, Baekhyun.” Yixing is pulling at the shirt in Baekhyun’s hands again, tugs harder, as though he’s determined to get it out of his hands. As though the shirt represents Baekhyun’s resolution to leave and if he lets go, Baekhyun would stay; he’d throw in the white flag and stay._

_“So don’t lie to me, and don’t lie to yourself.” Yixing gently says. “You know you love me, have loved me for awhile now. So won’t you just admit it?”_

_Baekhyun unconsciously looks at Yixing. Wrong move, because it’s then does Yixing delivers the final blow and Baekhyun’s walls crumble once and for all. Darkness will be seeping out in a few moments but Baekhyun doesn’t care anymore. Doesn’t want to care. The darkness doesn’t come, though. And it’s then does Baekhyun look down at his fingers. They’re no longer holding onto the white shirt._

_“Baekhyun, I love you, and I’ll be leaving together with you.”_

_The weight of Yixing’s decision suddenly hits Baekhyun. “Huh?”_

_“I’m going with you.”_

_“Yixing–”_

_“I can’t spend the rest of my life without you, so won’t you let me follow you?”_

_“I–”_

_The warmth from Yixing’s fingertips sears Baekhyun’s cheek, but the burn soon turns into that familiar warmth that is soothing and calming, and everything that Yixing is. It calms Baekhyun down, as Yixing always manages to._

_“I’m sorry that I couldn’t say it during your birthday last year. I was still confused about my feelings but upon hearing that you’d be leaving woke me up. I’m sorry it took me almost a year for me to say it but I’m saying it now and I–”_

_“I love you too, Yixing.”_

_Baekhyun has never felt more free after saying that, and he’s never felt more happy after Yixing bursts out crying and Baekhyun bursts out crying too and the door bursts open to reveal Chanyeol and Kyungsoo in each other’s arms with identical crying faces and Baekhyun pulls them in to crush them in a huge group hug and the four of them proceed to laugh with salty tears slipping into their open mouths._

_Baekhyun has never wished so much for time to stop then._

 

 

\---

 

 

Baekhyun wishes that Chanyeol was here. Or Kyungsoo. If they were, Yixing wouldn’t still be trapped in this burning hellhole of a half-destroyed ship. Chanyeol would have drawn the fire away, absorbing them into his palms and freeing the putrid air of these soul-sucking flames. Kyungsoo would have smashed the glass pane as easily as breaking a toothpick with his fingers. Hell, Kyungsoo _would_ have been able to break the glass with a single finger. But, fuck, his friends aren’t here. There’s no one here but Baekhyun and his useless ability of light. 

 

“Come on!” Baekhyun brings an arm down, whipping a sliver of light at the lattice holding the glass panes together. He had brought it down as hard as he can, but the whip barely inflicted any damage on the metal. The silver burns bright red before cooling down to reveal yet another scratch on top of the previous one. It’s not working, but there’s nothing else Baekhyun can do. He can’t use five, or all ten of his fingers. Yes, the combined strength and power of ten ropes of light might disintegrate the lattice at once but Baekhyun is afraid that they might harm Yixing. With the lattice and glass gone, his light can actually touch Yixing then. For someone who is unconfident of his ability, and who knows just how destructive it is, Baekhyun has the right to be frightened and afraid of pushing himself to the max. 

 

But a single rope isn’t working. And neither is two, nor three—Baekhyun has tried. Will the lattice only break when he uses five, or ten fingers to lash at it consecutively? But what will become of Yixing when the lattice gives way and the bloody glass panes shatter, and there’s absolutely nothing to defend Yixing from Baekhyun’s deadly ropes of light. He has inflicted harm on Yixing once, and the pain when he saw red staining Yixing’s shirt is something that Baekhyun doesn’t want to experience again. He’s already killed his father and hurt Yixing with his own hands, he can’t harm another. He can’t injure Yixing again. 

 

Plus Yixing could be hurt. The red that is splattered on the glass pane looks ominously like blood; the thought that it’s most probably Yixing’s blood was what made Baekhyun cry out the moment he laid eyes on the red before scrambling towards the burning ship without a heck for his own safety. What is safety to Baekhyun when Yixing’s seems to be already compromised?

 

The silver burns bright red before cooling down to reveal five scratches on top of the previous single one. Baekhyun has thrown caution to the wind, flung out of his head the worries and concerns about harming Yixing with his actions because the raging fire that has been contained at the back of the half-ship is licking its way towards the cockpit. The red orange yellow is eating at the silver, turning it into charcoal black. The flames are steadily devouring everything in their path and Baekhyun can feel the immense heat on a side of his body. More beads of perspiration form to join the stream trickling down his forehead, cheeks, and neck. Baekhyun’s shirt has not been dry for some time now. 

 

The crack of Baekhyun’s light whip on the lattice repeatedly slices the loud crackling of flames on metal. He keeps working on it, five fingers pressed tightly to combine the ropes together to form a stronger one. Baekhyun brings it down again, hitting the exact same spot with an accuracy that he would have found frightening if not for the urgent task of saving Yixing at hand; Baekhyun doesn’t want to know why he’s able to wield his ability this well, this _smooth_. Thoughts like these will always come back to bite him.

 

He works at the lattice without resting, eyes occasionally darting to the flames that are getting closer and closer, bringing along its intense heat that does nothing to help Baekhyun and his aching arm. Exhaustion is beginning to spread within him, crawling its way from Baekhyun’s arm to the rest of his body. Laboured breaths, slower movements, blurred vision. It’s happening, but Baekhyun refuses to let it happen. He refuses to give up, refuses to give Yixing up. If he’s going to go down, he’s going to die trying. 

 

Baekhyun lifts his arm and slashes, the bright yellow-gold rope slicing through the air and the sound that Baekhyun had gotten used to rings loud, but the _crackle_ that follows is something that Baekhyun hasn’t heard before. And he watches with wide eyes as the metal lattice breaks, the bloody glass panes shattering since their support has fallen. With the obstructions gone, Baekhyun can finally see into the cockpit. 

 

And there he is. The person Baekhyun has been waiting for for ten years. 

 

“Yixing!” Baekhyun gets moving instantly, leaping up and gripping onto the metal lattice. It’s a stupid move, the leftover glass still on the metal mercilessly stabbing into Baekhyun’s palms and pain shoots up to his mind immediately. He swears but doesn’t let his bleeding wounds get in the way of pulling himself up, feet scrabbling to find purchase on the slippery metal of the ship. Despite the excruciating pain tearing through his entire being, Baekhyun manages to heave himself up to the cockpit, ripping his palms off the glass shards after planting his feet on the metal lattice and Baekhyun feels like he’s on a tightrope—one wrong move and he’ll fall to his death. But he’s having none of that. Baekhyun is so close, so close to Yixing. He’s literally within arm’s reach, he’s _not going to fucking give up now_.

 

Stepping onto the dashboard, Baekhyun stretches his hands towards Yixing, fingers curling into the jacket that Yixing has on him. The jacket is familiar, and Baekhyun unconsciously smiles when he recognises it as the one that he’d made Yixing wear when he was leaving for their home planet ten years ago. Perhaps it’s the situation they’re in but the jacket looks like it’s seen much better days. And Baekhyun would have continued to crouch there admiring how absolutely handsome Yixing (though knocked out and bleeding) looks in the jacket if not for the sudden roar of heat that he feels behind him. 

 

From the corners of his eyes, Baekhyun sees red orange yellow peeking out from the metal lattice of the cockpit. “Fuck.” He pulls Yixing towards him immediately, letting out a growl of frustration when he realises that the fucking seat belt is still wrapped around Yixing’s waist. With an index and careful aim, Baekhyun slices it and promptly gathers the unconscious Yixing into his arms. The jacket feels wet in his hands, Yixing’s weight causing pain to erupt within his palms once more but Baekhyun ignores them, choosing to focus on getting both Yixing and him out. 

 

Red yellow orange is, thankfully, not obscuring his sight of the green and brown beyond and Baekhyun braves the intense heat to step onto the metal. Fire instantly licks at his boots but Baekhyun barely has time to register that he might be set alight because one second he’s on the ship, and the next second he’s on the forest floor. He groans, positively certain that his tailbone is broken but at the sight of Yixing still in his arms, a halo of sunlight above his head, Baekhyun stops his pity party. 

 

He gets up, and with all of the pathetic amount of strength that he has left, Baekhyun lifts Yixing off the ground and starts running towards the forest. The noise of an explosion comes from behind Baekhyun a full five seconds after, and he feels the ground beneath his boots rock. Baekhyun has an inkling of what might have happened but he doesn’t turn back to confirm. He doesn’t have the energy to anyway, body about to collapse because the adrenaline pumping within him is waning with every step he takes. 

 

Baekhyun is at the brink. He’s so so so so so tired. His arms are screaming. His legs are screaming. His lungs are screaming. His entire body is fucking screaming at him to _stop stop stop stop stop_ but no, Baekhyun is not going to. He’s not going to stop until he reaches the Clearing, because—call him dumb, a romantic—he wants the place to be the first thing Yixing sees when he wakes up. So Baekhyun’s not going to stop running, even though he’s literally stumbling every four to ten steps, until he’s there. Until he’s on the purple mat, under the tree.

 

He makes it. Baekhyun gently seats himself onto the purple, boots and blood and perspiration and all of his dirty self settling on the mat. The containers of food are still where he’s left them. Baekhyun ignores them after a quick glance. 

 

Yixing is on Baekhyun’s lap, his thigh pillowing Yixing’s head, a hand curling in Yixing’s hair. Baekhyun looks down and takes in Yixing properly for the first time ever since spotting him in the cockpit. Although his features are caked with blood, both dry and wet, Yixing is still as good looking as Baekhyun remembers him to be. He’s still so Zhang Yixing, still that healer boy Baekhyun’s fallen in love with all those years ago. Baekhyun can’t help but smile, though the smile doesn’t last because Yixing is still unconscious and Baekhyun doesn’t know what injuries Yixing has sustained. He recalls the red splattered on the glass pane. Baekhyun’s blood runs cold. 

 

A shaking index makes its way to Yixing’s nostrils, resting gently on Yixing’s philtrum. There’s nothing. There’s no air coming out of Yixing’s nostrils. Baekhyun darts his eyes to Yixing’s chest. There’s no movement. There’s no rise and fall, rise and fall. Is Yixing–

 

“No,” Baekhyun breathes. “ _No_.” He removes his index finger from Yixing’s philtrum and gingerly places it at the position where Yixing’s heart is. Baekhyun sees his hand shake and realises that he’s not going to be able to feel for Yixing’s heartbeat with his dumb hand shaking like that. So he calms himself down, a mantra of _Yixing is fine Yixing is fine Yixing is fine_ muttered repeatedly under his breath, and his hand gradually stops shaking. Baekhyun discovers then that his entire body had been shaking. 

 

His hand is steady now, no more trembles, no more vehement shaking. It can feel for Yixing’s heartbeat now. It will feel a beating heart, it will tell Baekhyun that Yixing is alive, that he’s going to wake up, that Baekhyun is the first person that Yixing is going to see, and the first thing that Baekhyun will hear from Yixing’s chapped and bleeding lips is _hey Baekhyun_. 

 

But Baekhyun’s palm… feels nothing. 

 

Baekhyun presses down harder, pain shooting through his chest when he sees a trickle of blood flowing out of a corner of Yixing’s parted lips. Shit. But Baekhyun doesn’t lessen the pressure on Yixing’s chest. He stills and waits to feel a heartbeat. There’s nothing. Still nothing.

 

_Fuck._

 

“No. No. No no no no no _no_!” Baekhyun bends, shoving his ear at the same spot, hoping that his palm is faulty and wrong. “Yixing! Yixing!” Baekhyun hears nothing the first time, the second time, the third time, and after the tenth time of hearing absolutely nothing his own ragged breaths, Baekhyun’s hope explodes. There is nothing left for him to pick up. 

 

“ _Yixing!_ ”

 

 

\---

 

 

_“Yixing, can I ask you something?”_

_The sheets rustle and Baekhyun is staring at the beautiful pair of eyes he’s had the fortune of being able to gaze into for the past seventeen years. The moonlight that’s streaming, unfiltered, into the cube through the lattice is gentle in Yixing’s eyes. The side of Yixing’s face that’s not nestled in the pillow is illuminated, the silvery light highlighting the dimple Baekhyun will always love. Yixing’s smile and curious gaze tells Baekhyun to continue._

_“Do you… regret following me here?”_

_Yixing’s response is instant. “No, I don’t.”_

_Baekhyun is not convinced. “But there’s nothing to do here. We only have this structure and whatever that’s in it. There may be endless amount of food and whatever we need to stay alive but, Yixing, there’s simply nothing–”_

_“There’s you,” Yixing says, tone positively soft and gentle and Yixing. “There’s me.” Yixing brings a hand up to cup Baekhyun’s face and Baekhyun can’t help but lean into the touch, corners of his lips threatening to follow the way Yixing’s has risen. Baekhyun covers Yixing’s hand with his, slipping his fingers between the gaps of Yixing’s and lacing their hands on his face. His head sinks a little deeper into the pillow._

_“And,” Yixing resumes saying, the smile on his face growing wider when Baekhyun moves their laced hands into his lips, pressing a light kiss on Yixing’s palm; Baekhyun’s eyes have never left Yixing’s._

_“There’s us.”_

_“So you’re saying…”_

_“I don’t regret following you here, Baekhyun.” Yixing chuckles. His eyes begin to sparkle, a twinkle that wasn’t there before suddenly appearing in Yixing’s beautiful orbs, making them like the galaxy with the uncountable number of stars and planets and shooting stars and all those things that Baekhyun can see in the sky whenever he looks up at night. Yixing’s eyes hold the beauty of the galaxy, and since eyes are the windows to one’s soul, Baekhyun can safely say that Yixing is beautiful, both inside and out. Baekhyun feels so undeserving of Yixing._

_“As long as I’m with you, I’m happy. It doesn’t matter that there’s nothing here, that the planet might just be you and I, because you have me, and I have you, Baekhyun.”_

_“You… sure?”_

_“Absolutely.” And Yixing pushes forward to press his lips against Baekhyun’s. “As long we’re together, nothing can separate us.”_

_“Nothing?”_

_“Not even death.”_

 

 

\---

 

 

It happens when Baekhyun is resting his forehead against Yixing’s, hot and heavy tears trickling onto Yixing’s face, and Baekhyun’s silent sobs rocking both their bodies. It happens when Baekhyun has his eyes squeezed tight, mouth unattractively wide, drool and snot and tears dribbling onto his chin and seeping into the collar of his shirt. It happens when Baekhyun has given up, has given up on all hope of ever hearing his love saying–

 

“Baekhyun.”

 

And–

 

“I’m home.”

 

The forest then hears the most relieved, the most affectionate, the most full of lovelovelovelovelove whisper of _welcome home, Yixing_.

**Author's Note:**

> i lied when i said i'd return with the pac rim sequel. baekxing was hogging all my brain cells (including those for my assignments yikes) so, yeah. 
> 
> jen uses html in her work for the first time! applause, please.
> 
> come make friends with me on twitter @soobiscuits ^^


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